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Volkswagen should pay 3.1 mln USD to London congestion charge: mayor

Xinhua, November 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

London mayor Sadiq Khan called Sunday on German-owned auto giant Volkswagen to pay 2.5 million pounds (3.09 million U.S. dollars) toward's the capital's congestion charge.

Khan took to social media to explain his demand, saying it is towards covering of missed congestion charge because of VW vehicles fitted with devices that give false readings.

The mayor said 80,000 VW vehicles fitted with the so-called defeat devices are registered in London. The devices, which detect when an engine is being tested, changed performance to improve results, causing one of the biggest scandals in automotive history.

The London congestion charge was introduced to reduce the number of polluting vehicles from entering central London, with fees raised used to support public transport and other green transport measures such as cycling.

Transport for London, part of the Mayor of London's office, calculated the 2.5 million pound figure was based on the number of owners of affected VW vehicles claiming a discount for which they were not entitled.

In a letter to Volkswagen, Khan said many VW vehicles qualified for a greener vehicle discount on the basis of their emissions.

Transport for London say the capital has lost millions of pounds because of bogus test results.

Khan said: "If you don't ask you don't get. I'm a champion for clean air, I'm a champion for London. Londoners, in good faith, bought these vehicles. They weren't clean. We've lost revenues from the congestion charge, they've got a case to answer."

The mayor has also said VW owners in Britain should be offered the same compensation package as owners in the United States.

Khan outlined his demands in an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper. VW told the newspaper in a statement: "Volkswagen products perform well in independent real-world emissions testing against new cars in general."

"It is therefore difficult to understand why our products might be singled out for pollution penalties." Endit